Sanwo-Olu approves N750 million health insurance premiums for 100,000 residents

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has so far approved N750 million for the payment of health insurance premiums for 100,000 vulnerable and indigent residents of the state, the First Lady, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has said.

Mrs Sanwo-Olu, speaking during the flag-off of a Town Hall meeting with the beneficiaries on Wednesday, said the equity is funded through the 1 per cent set aside from the state’s Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF)

The meeting was organised by the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA), the agency saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that all residents have access to quality and affordable healthcare services through health insurance.

Mrs Sanwo-Olu said the governor aims to ensure that they did not leave behind a sizeable proportion of the population who could not afford health insurance premiums.

Represented by the wife of the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Funmi Omotoso, the first lady said the government anchors its plan to promote the health of Lagosians on health insurance. She added that the government had invested heavily on health insurance since the inception of the present administration.

“Through this effort, the government provides financial protection to the poor when they seek healthcare services to boost their purchasing capacities and stimulate economic growth,” she said.

“The Ilera Eko Equity Fund is part of the effort by the State government to provide social protection to the poor.

“Similar initiatives have also been launched including Maternal Infant Child Development and the Social Welfare Integrated Program Initiative (SWIPI). Most recently, Mr. Governor also launched an integrated social protection policy for the State government.

“Since the inception of this administration, Mr. Governor has approved the payment of over N750,000,000 which has been used to pay the health insurance premiums of 100,000 residents of the State.

“In the short term, this has facilitated access to healthcare by a group of people who cannot afford to go to the hospital and, in the long term, will improve the health outcomes in the State.”

She expressed happiness that the government had onboarded all public servants in the state on the Ilera Eko health scheme, while Lagos became the first State in Nigeria to begin health insurance regulations.

She said the town hall with the beneficiaries which will take place across Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, and Epe, was designed to get feedback and seek ways to improve access to health care by every resident of the State.

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She, therefore, urged all beneficiaries to spread the good news of Ilera Eko equity fund to all and sundry, and most importantly take the full benefit of the laudable scheme.

In his welcome remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, commended the attention devoted to the health and wellbeing of residents by the governor. He said it was on record that the present administration has deployed many health initiatives to improve the standard of living and quality of life of the people.

He commended LASHMA for the significant efforts to improve access to healthcare services, just as he said the agency was on the verge of rolling out an innovative health financing initiative to raise funds from philanthropists, organizations, and donors. The funds, according to him, would crowdfund health insurance premiums and the adoption of indigents and the vulnerable on the scheme.